Uryuu's Civil War
by Lubeck07
Summary: Post Soul Society Arc. Uryuu fights for Orihime's affection and fights to control a new weapon that allows him to use his Quincy powers again but at a terrible cost.
1. The Sword

**Authors Notes: This is my first story on FanFic so go easy on me ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Beach if I did this story would probably be in it**

Ishida walked calmly to class like he did everyday.

He was slightly irritated. He had been since he lost his powers in soul society. But today he was going to do something about it but first he would have to get through school.

He was getting his books out of his bag when she walked in. Inoue Orihime. She was gorgeous, the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes. He had spent a lot of time with her in Soul Society and had, for lack of a better term, fallen in love with her. He winced slightly at this thought, how could he think that? He had never been in love before so how did he know that he was now? Maybe this wasn't love at all, maybe it was just lust.

No this was more.

At first he thought it was just lust, it would be easy to lust for Orihime… She had perfect skin, great legs, and her most outstanding feature, aside from her long orange hair, was her enormous chest.

However after spending time with her he realized that she was one of the most selfless people he'd ever met. She cared about everyone even her enemies. She was very kind, and she was almost always smiling; Uryuu hoped that this would never change.

'Stop torturing yourself… there's no way she'd ever like you that way.' He thought.

Besides, he thought bitterly, She has a crush on Ichigo. This was bad for a number of reasons. First Ichigo was a Soul Reaper and Uryuu hated Soul Reapers. Second, Ichigo loved another Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki and had no idea how Orihime felt. Last, and definitely worst of all, Orihime was oblivious to Ichigo and Rukia's relationship.

Uryuu pulled himself from his thoughts as class started. Coming to the same painful conclusion he always came to… no matter how you slice it, Orihime's heart was going to get broken.

After class Uryuu was eating lunch with Chad like he did everyday when he heard her call him.

"Ishida-Kun!"

Ishida looked up, his heartbeat accelerating slightly.

"Hi Inoue-san"

"Can I talk to you in private for a minute Ishida-Kun?"

This time Uryuu felt his heart jump. She needed to talk to _him_? A voice in his head told him not to get his hopes up she probably just wanted to ask him for pen or to try some of her weird food; still his heart was racing.

"Of course."

He got up and followed her to a vacant classroom.

"Is everything alright Inoue-san?"

"Yes I just need to ask you a question Ishida-kun. I like Kurusaki-kun but I'm not sure if should tell him. What do you think I should do?"

That same voice piped up again saying 'I told you'

Uryuu felt his heart sink. What was he going to tell her? Go talk to Ichigo and get your heart broken or tell her now and break her heart? God this sucked.

Uryuu unconsciously started rubbing the back of his neck.

"Inoue-san I…"

What am I going to say?

"Inoue-san… if I were you I would wait on that."

"But why Ishida-kun?" she said as her smile disappeared and became a frown.

"Inoue-san… just trust me. Think about it a little more before you do anything. Okay?"

She forced a smile.

"Okay Ishida-kun, I'll think about it."

She put on a fake serious face and gave him a salute. He gave halfhearted smile as she walked out of the room.

"See you later Ishida-kun."

"Yeah… see you later." He said in a soft voice that he was 100 sure she didn't hear.

'You big pussy' the voice said.

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After school Uryuu went straight to Urahara's Shop.

"Hi Uryuu, didn't expect to see you here." He said.

"Neither did I… Look I lost the ability to use my powers in Soul Society. Is there a way I can get that back?"

"I doubt it. But I do have an item that might help you."

He got up and went to the storage room and about ten seconds later he came back carrying a long dusty box. He opened it to reveal a long straight sword.

"This sword can bring out anyone's hidden powers and since your powers are still there but you can't use them maybe this can help you. Pick it up and see if you feel anything."

Uryuu did as he was told and picked up the sword. He instantly felt a surge of his dormant Quincy powers.

"Ah it seems to be working."

"Yeah." Uryuu said with a smile on his face.

"Now look, this sword can sometimes bring out things other than dormant powers… it can bring out the worst in people. I have seen this blade turn good people into monsters."

"That won't happen to me." Uryuu said confidently.

"It had better not, because if it does I'll have to kill you."

There was silence as Uryuu let that last statement sink in.

"So, how are you with a sword?"

"Not good." Uryuu admitted

"Alright then, follow me."

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'Man' Uryuu thought as he walked home later that night with his new blade. 'Urahara's training is rough.'

He had just finished a six-hour training session with Urahara in a large underground training area. It was tiring but Uryuu had regained almost all of his Quincy abilities. He couldn't shoot arrows of course but he could use his Hirenkyaku and Ransōtengai again. Plus he could channel his Quincy power in to the blade and make it deadlier or he could expell the power in a blast. It wasn't as acurate as an arrow but it was better than nothing.

And the best part was that when Uryuu wanted he could make the sword shink down until all that was left was the grip and all he had to do was channel his power into it in order to make the guard and blade appear again. It had taken a few trys but Uryuu had finally mastered switching the sword from dormant to combat ready and back again.

Uryuu's attention turned to his right arm. Urahara had slashed it durring training and, despite having bandaged it up as best he could, it was still bleeding ever so slightly. He would probably have to stitch it up when he got home.

When Uryuu arrived at home he placed the now dormant new blade on his night stand and went to take a shower. Afterwards he put on his favorite pajama bottoms (they were blue with Pepsi emblems on all over them, they were goofy but very comfortable.) and examined his right arm.

'Looks like I'm going to have to stitch it, this ought to be fun.' He thought sarcasticly.

He caught a glimpse of his chest as he left the bathroom. He looked pretty good for a guy who sews and kills Hollows in his free time. He had decent sized biceps and fairly decent abs; they weren't chisled but they were there.

He pushed these narssistic thoughts out of his head, he would need full concentration if he was going to stich his arm up right.

He sat on his couch and began sterilizing a needle. He felt goose bumps pop up on his arms as his air conditioner turned on. He didn't have a shirt on for fear of staining it with his blood. He was just about to begin when he heard three small taps on his door. He looked at his clock; it was ten o'clock at night

'Who in the hell would be hear at this hour?' he thought as he got up to answer the door.

**All right there's chapter one, not a lot of romance yet but it's coming, so tell me what think… reviews, suggestions I'm up for anything.**


	2. That Night

**Author's Notes: I'm not too confident in this chapter, I tried to make the romance as real as possible and it may not have turned out too well.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach**

Uryuu got up off the couch and walked over to the door.

He heard a crack of thunder and looked out the window… When did it start raining?

He felt a sense of vertigo as he neared the door.

"Whoa" he said as he braced himself on the wall.

'I guess I lost more blood than I thought.'

He opened the door but nothing could have prepared him for what was on the other side.

As soon as the door was open enough, a soaking wet sobbing girl with orange hair buried her face in his bare chest.

"I-Inoue-san…" Uryuu stuttered unable to think.

What was he supposed to do? The girl he loved was sobbing into his chest and he didn't even know what she was crying about.

A hundred thoughts raced through head at once. 'What is she doing here? My arm hurts. She's cold. Why is she crying? Does she realize that I don't have a shirt on? Why did she come to me?

"Inoue-san what's wrong?"

She let out an explanation that was almost completely intelligible through his chest and her sobs. However he made out one word that explained everything: Kurosaki.

She had talked to Ichigo even though he had warned her not to. He hated Ichigo for hurting her like this even though he knew Ichigo didn't mean to hurt her.

Uryuu wrapped his left arm around Orihime's back and shifted his right arm at his side so she wouldn't see the blood. She had enough going on right now.

After what seemed like forever (not that he was complaining) Orihime finally calmed down and managed to stop crying.

Her calm didn't last long however as she started to shiver violently. Uryuu knew why. She was soaking wet.

After a moment Uryuu said, "You need some dry clothes."

He led her to the restroom, careful not let her see his arm or the small puddle of blood that had accumulated on the floor where they had just been standing, and walked into his room. He came back with a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt. He gave them to Orihime and gave her towel.

She took both and looked Uryuu straight in the eyes.

Despite being pink and swollen from all crying, Uryuu couldn't help but think that they were they were still the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"You're welcome… Inoue-san."

He quickly walked down the hall as she closed the door. He felt dizzy. He looked at his arm it was still bleeding.

Uryuu quickly wiped up the blood on the floor, re-sterilized the needle, and began stitching his arm. It hurt like hell, but if he didn't get the bleeding to stop soon he would be in serious trouble.

He was half way done stitching when she came out. He didn't want her to see him in pain. It may sound weird but that was the way he was; it was his pain he'd bear it alone.

He heard her footsteps as she walked into his small living room.

'Oh well, can't hide it forever I guess.' He thought as he finished another painful stitch.

"Ishida-kun" Her gasped when she saw his half stitched arm. "What happened? Are all right? Here let me help you."

She raised her hands to her temples.

"No thanks… it's not that bad." Uryuu said as he finished another stitch. "Besides I'm almost done."

She lowered her hands and sat on the couch next to him.

It only took Uryuu a couple more minutes to finish the stitches.

"See, good as new." Uryuu said showing Orihime his arm and putting his shirt on.

She gave a half-hearted smile. He had to think of way to cheer her up, but how? Maybe she didn't want to be cheered up. Maybe she just needed someone to talk to. If that was the case then he was failing miserably.

"Do you want some water?" He asked not knowing what else to say.

She nodded.

He quickly cleaned up his sewing tools, ran to the kitchen and brought her back a glass of water.

"So… what happened Inoue-san?"

She was slow to answer.

"I told Kurosaki-kun how I felt about him." She said softly. "I-I should have listened to you Ishida-kun but…"

Her voice trailed off and he could tell she was about to start crying again.

He placed his hand on her shoulder "Its all right Inoue-"

He was interrupted by a loud crack thunder followed by a flash of lighting.

Orihime jumped and scooted a little bit closer to Uryuu.

"Are you afraid of thunderstorms Inoue-san?" He asked

She nodded.

This didn't surprise him, most people don't like thunderstorms. Uryuu, on the other hand, loved thunderstorms; if Orihime weren't here he'd probably be watching this one from his window right now.

"Ishida-kun?"

"Yes Inoue-san?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked.

'Because I love you!!' He thought.

"Because you're my friend Inoue-san. And friends take care of each other."

She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. Uryuu felt his heart start pumping faster.

Uryuu yawned, it was late, he had been training with Urahara, he had lost a decent amount of blood, and he was ready to get some rest. He was so glad there was no school tomorrow.

Apparently Orihime felt the same way. She was yawning a few seconds latter.

"Inoue-san, you can stay here tonight if you want to."

She looked up at him. "Are you sure Ishida-kun?"

"Unless you want to walk home in the storm." He got up. "Come on you can have the bed, I'll take the couch."

He led her to his room. The exhausted Quincy quickly grabbed a pillow and blanket for himself under his left arm and headed out of the room.

"Ishida-kun." Orihime said softly.

"Yes Inoue-san." Uryuu said turning to face her.

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you for being here for me."

"I'll always be here for you Inoue-san."

Uryuu was really surprised he'd just said that aloud. He was even more surprised at Orihime's reaction.

He felt his face flush as she kissed him on the cheek.

'That must have been the right thing to say.' He thought happily.

She released him from the hug and stepped away her own face blushing.

"Goodnight Ishida-kun."

"Goodnight Inoue-san." He said as he shut the door.

Uryuu walked to the living room and made the couch, his cheek still tingling where her lips had touched.

He laid down and, despite being both mentally and physically exhausted, could not fall asleep.

**There you go. Love it? Hate it? Please leave some reviews and suggestions and expect things to pick up a bit in the next chapter.**


	3. Early Mornings

**Author's Notes: This chapter took me awhile but the rest shouldn't take as long.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

"_They will all die." The man said with thick malice._

_Uryuu was paralyzed. Standing in shock amongst the dead bodies._

"There is nothing you can do to stop me." The figure said his voice sending shivers down Uryuu's spine.

_Uryuu looked around at the bodies of Ichigo, Rukia, and Chad. What had this man done to them?_

"_All your little friends will die and there is nothing you can do about it." This time he was not alone. He held another person in his grip, a young girl with long orange hair._

_Uryuu's blood ran cold. "No…" He whispered still unable to move._

_There was a bloodcurdling scream and then silence._

_The figure threw the bloody body of Inoue Orihime at Uryuu's feet. Uryuu knelt down and held the lifeless body in his arms. "Orihime… no… please."_

"_They will all die and it will be your fault."_

"_NOOOO!!!"_

Uryuu awoke in a cold sweat. Without thinking he snatched up his glasses and threw them on as he ran to his room. He opened the door and looked inside. She was there and she was alive. Uryuu felt a wave of relief wash over him. He watched carefully for a few more seconds to make sure she was still breathing then closed the door and walked back to the couch.

Uryuu was shaking. He placed his glasses on the table and put his face in his hands. Uryuu had had nightmares many times before. He had seen hollows kill his grandfather when he was a child and had fought a mad scientist in Soul Society. He'd had plenty of nightmares. But something felt different about this one. It felt more real than any dream he'd had before.

'Its going to take a while before I shake that one off.' He thought as he put his glasses back on and looked at the clock. 6:00 AM.

"Now what do I do? I'm wide awake at six in the morning on a Saturday.' Uryuu thought irritated.

Uryuu got up and went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and was about to take a shower when he heard a loud screeching sound he immediately recognized as a hollow cry.

'It is way too early in the morning for this.' He thought even more irritated.

He ran to his room and grabbed his still dormant blade from the nightstand and looked at the now wide-awake Orihime.

"Ishida-kun, what's going on?" she asked with a tinge of fear in her voice.

"Hollows, don't worry I'll take care of them." He said, as he eyed three Hollows outside his window.

"But Ishida-kun your powers are gone. How-" She gasped as a blade grew from the grip in Uryuu's hand.

"I'll manage." Uryuu said as jumped out the window towards the nearest Hollow.

He felt his feet hit spirit particles as his Hirenkyaku started up. He loved using Hirenkyaku, it was like surfing at 1000 miles an hour.

He stuck the blade out to his left and flew past the first hollow's head. As he slid to a stop behind the hollow he saw half of the hollow's head fall to the ground as it disintegrated.

He quickly turned and dispatched another hollow in one swing. However, the last hollow took this opportunity to attack and charged at Uryuu. Uryuu turned and raised his blade straight in front of his face and twisted it so that the broad side of the blade was facing him; He then put his right fore arm across the blade to brace it.

The hollow slammed into the blade and Uryuu winced in pain as the stitches in his right arm ripped apart.

'A lot of good those stitches did me.' Uryuu thought as he looked at the newly reopened wound.

The hollow pushed Uryuu through a fence and slammed him against a brick wall.

"Ishida-kun!" He heard Orihime cry out, worry evident in her voice.

Uryuu began channeling his spirit energy into his sword and the blade began to glow a light blue, the same color his arrows used to be.

The hollow's mask began to burn against the glowing blade and it recoiled in pain clutching its masked face.

Uryuu swung his blade in the hollow's direction and shot its energy at the hollow. The energy blast tore a soccer ball sized hole through the hollow's head and it disintegrated.

Uryuu lowered his sword and realized that something felt wrong. He was happy, happy from slaying hollows.

'That's weird, I've never **enjoyed** slaying hollows before.' Uryuu thought as he headed back to his house.

Suddenly, Uryuu remembered Urahara's words.

'_I have seen this blade turn good people into monsters.'_

Scenes from the nightmare he'd had less than an hour ago played through his mind and he connected the dots.

Uryuu stopped in his tracks

Uryuu looked down at the blade with wide eyes and immediately switched it to its dormant form.

'This blade is the reason I had that nightmare.' Uryuu thought horrified.

He quickly calmed himself. 'Urahara said this might happen. This was my first time using the blade in real combat. If I keep using it in combat I should be able to use it without any of these side effects.'

Uryuu started walking again, confident that this was a one-time thing, and became aware of something trickling down his face. He wiped his forehead and looked at his hand

Blood. Wow, he hadn't even felt it.

As he neared the door Orihime ran out to him.

"Ishida-kun! Your hurt!"

"Its not bad. Lets get inside."

They went inside and Orihime started healing Uryuu's injuries as he sat on the couch.

"Wow Ishida-kun, that was amazing! Where did you get that sword?" Orihime said as she was healing Uryuu.

"Urahara gave it to me yesterday after school." Uryuu said as he looked down at his feet.

That's when he realized that he had just killed three hollows wearing Pepsi pajama bottoms.

'So undignified.' He thought embarrassed.

Orihime finished healing Uryuu and sat down next to him.

"So does this mean you have you powers back?" Orihime asked happily.

"No, I can only use them when I'm holding the sword, but at least I can fight again."

She smiled and got up. "I'm going to make breakfast Ishida-kun." She said happily.

Uryuu's eyes widened. Orihime was notorious for making weird foods.

"You don't have to make breakfast Inoue-san. I can-"

"Nonsense Ishida-kun. You've been so nice to me it's the least I can do." She said as she entered his kitchen and began rummaging around for ingredients.

'Guess there's no sense arguing. Besides, her food might taste good.' Uryuu thought as he got up and headed to the bathroom.

"I'm going to take a shower, let me know if you need any thing Inoue-san."

"Okay Ishida-kun" She chirped.

Ishida quickly showered and headed back to the kitchen.

Orihime looked up at him as he entered the kitchen and smiled.

"Breakfast is almost done Ishida-kun. Have a seat."

Ishida looked at what Orihime had cooked.

Natto with red bean paste, miso soup with honey, and rice with wasabi.

Ishida's stomach started yelling at him. What was he thinking letting Orihime make breakfast?

"Okay, lets eat Ishida-kun." Orihime said happily as she brought two mugs of green tea to the table.

Ishida smiled at her began taking small portions of everything Orihime had prepared.

'If I don't at eat this it will hurt her feelings.' Uryuu thought.

Uryuu decided to start with the honey miso.

'Well, it can't be that bad… can it?'

**There you go. A lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. This is turning into a longer story than I had intended. Expect the next chapter to be mostly romance.**

**Fun Fact: I have pair of Pepsi Pajama bottoms like the ones I gave Uryuu.**

**Quick Question: Do you think that start writing some parts of this from someone else's point of view?**

**Like always leave some reviews and suggestion for me. :) **


	4. Moving On

**AN: WOW 2 whole years since I updated this. Uh…sorry. I won't give you a ton of excuses or tell you it won't happen again. Any way, a couple of things have changed. First off don't expect much more of the inner dialogue, it just seems childish to me now for some reason. Second I got tired of the whole kun and san crap so that's out as well. OK time for you to R&R and most of all enjoy the chapter.**

Uryuu was surprised as he began eating the bizarre breakfast that Orihime had prepared for them. It tasted … good. It wasn't outstanding, somewhere between tolerable and great. But still, he had expected to gag on it so, needless to say, he was pleasantly surprised.

"This is excellent Inoue-san." He said exaggerating slightly. He hated lying, even a little bit, but the smile she gave him made it worth it.

"Thank you Ishida-kun!" she said happily as she sat down to eat across from her host.

Uryuu quickly finished his very small first helping and took a more generous second helping of the slightly unorthodox breakfast.

Inoue smiled as she began eating. But in her head things were going a mile a minute. What was she doing here? Why had she come to Uryuu? It had been a good decision. He had taken very good care of her; he had comforted her and let her stay at his house without a second thought. The only other person that she knew would do that for her was Tatsuki. But Tatsuki would have left as soon as she stopped crying to rip Ichigo's head off.

'Wait… does Ishida-kun like me?' She thought as she watched the Quincy eat the food she had just cooked.

Oddly enough, Orihime kind of liked the idea.

'Wait… do I like Ishida-kun?!' Orihime thought surprised.

She really couldn't say.

"Inoue-san?" Uryuu's concerned voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"Yes Ishida-kun?" she said happily.

"Are you ok? You look like you have something on your mind."

"I'm fine Ishida-kun." She said happily.

'No I'm not, I'm confused… really confused.'

They finished eating in comfortable silence. As Uryuu cleaned the table, Orihime got up.

"I'm going to go freshen up Ishida-kun." She said.

"Ok, there are spare toiletries in the drawer next to the sink."

"Thank you Ishida-kun." She said as she walked to the bathroom.

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Uryuu was deep in thought.

'What if things with this blade get worse? What if I lose control? Maybe I should take it back to Urahara. No. I can't do that… I finally have a way to fight again. I won't give that up. I will master that blade if it's the last thing I do.'

Uryuu walked to his room and put the dormant blade in his pocket.

"Uh oh" Uryuu heard Orihime say.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he walked toward the bathroom.

"These clothes are still wet Ishida-kun." She said holding her wet school uniform.

Uryuu looked at the wet clothes and thought for a moment.

"Hold on a sec." Uryuu said as he headed into his room.

He came back carrying a folded up pink dress.

"I made this for you a while back. But I guess I never got around to giving it to you."

The truth was that Uryuu had made that dress Orihime as soon as he had got back from Soul Society and he had been too scared to give it to her until now. She had expressed interest in the dress he had made Rukia before they left Soul Society so he had made this one for Orihime.

"Wow Ishida-kun! This is beautiful! You shouldn't have." She said happily as she held the dress out in front of her and inspected it more closely.

"Well you seemed to like the one that I made Rukia so I made you this one for you." He said attempting a smile.

"Thank you so much Ishida-kun! I'm to try it on right away!" She exclaimed.

As she returned to the restroom, Uryuu went to the living room and sat down.

'I hope I got the measurements right on that dress. It would be pretty embarrassing if it doesn't fit.'

A few minutes later Orihime emerged in the dress looking, if possible, even more stunning than usual.

"How do I look Ishida-Kun?" She asked.

"You look very nice Inoue-san." He said blushing slightly.

'Wow. You are a smooth talker aren't you?'

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Half to her house, Inoue felt depression setting in again.

She was still thinking of Ishida but despite his kindness, she still couldn't keep her mind off Ichigo. She had had a crush on him for so long and now it was over. She knew she had to move on, but she also knew it wouldn't be easy.

When they arrived at Orihime's house, Uryuu gave her his number and told her to call him if she needed anything. After he left, Orihime called Tatsuki and told her the whole story.

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Over the next month, Orihime slowly returned to her old self. It took several visits a week from both Tatsuki and Uryuu but things were, for the most part, back to normal.

One day, while walking home with Tatsuki, Orihime decided to tell her friend about the new object of her affection, Uryuu.

"What do you think about Ishida-kun Tatsuki?"

"I think he's a decent guy, but I still don't trust him."

"Why not?" she asked.

"I guess its just because I don't know him like you do. He's to quiet, and kind of abrasive."

"Tatsuki, I think I'm starting to fall for him." Orihime said seriously.

Tatsuki stopped dead in her tracks. "WHAT!"

Orihime giggled at her friend's reaction.

Tatsuki was thrown. "Uryuu Ishida? The biggest freak in Karakura? You can't be serious. Ichigo is one thing but Uryuu? Granted he's not that bad looking but he's one of the meanest guys in school."

Orihime's tone changed serious like it used to when she said something about Ichigo. "He is not a freak Tatsuki and he is not mean. He just likes to keep to himself. He has been nothing but kind to me."

Tatsuki scoffed. "I bet he has. He probably wants to take advantage of you like all the other perverts."

"Tatsuki" Orihime said pleadingly to her friend "I'm serious. I really like Uryuu. He really helped me out after Ichigo rejected me and he's always been kind to me and he's a very honorable person."

Sighing, Tatsuki decided to get to the bottom of this. "So, when did you start liking him?"

"I'm not sure." She said looking down at her feet. "I think it was a few weeks ago when he made us dinner. Do you remember?"

"Yeah I remember." Tatsuki said recalling the night. Orihime was still getting over being rejected and had not spoken to Ichigo in two weeks. Tatsuki and Uryuu had been urging her to clear the air with Ichigo for some time but Orihime really didn't want to even though she knew she would have to soon. Uryuu made a deal with Orihime, if she talked to Ichigo then he would make dinner for her and Tatsuki. Orihime agreed, more so she could taste Uryuu's cooking than to clear the air with Ichigo. Both girls were surprised at how good the food was. "Who would of thought he could cook so well."

"Yeah." Said Orihime as she recalled the night herself. "Anyway, I think I've always been attracted to him a little but it wasn't until then that I realized it. Oh Tatsuki, what should I do?"

"Orihime, I really don't have that much experience with guys, but if you like him you should tell him."

"But what if he rejects me Tatsuki? I don't want to have to go through that again." Orihime said sadly.

"Then he's an idiot. Besides, I think he likes you too." Tatsuki said trying to cheer her friend up.

Orihime perked up once again as she reached her house. "Do you really think so Tatsuki?"

"Yes, I do. Wait. What time is it?" Tatsuki looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "Crap, I've got to be at the gym at four! I'll see you later Orihime. Bye!" She yelled as she ran off toward the gym.

"Bye Tatsuki, and thanks for the advice!" Orihime yelled back to her friend.

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Uryuu was highly irritated. He felt that he was in what some guys refer to as the "friend zone". He had chosen not to try anything with Orihime after her rejection because he didn't want to take advantage of her vulnerability. But now he feared that he had waited too long.

Uryuu looked outside, it was dark, just a matter of time now before the hollows started appearing. Lately, more and more hollows had started appearing and it was becoming increasingly more difficult for him and his friends to keep them at bay.

He looked at the dormant blade on his desk. He hadn't had any nightmares in a while and he believed this to be a sign that he had finally mastered the blade.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the piercing scream of a hollow.

"Looks like we are starting early tonight." He said aloud as he grabbed the dormant blade and ran out toward the hollows.

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Orihime had been eating when she felt the hollows. Immediately her thoughts turned to Uryuu. Since he was using a sword he was much more likely to be injured and this thought scared Orihime. Even if she could heal him if anything happened to him she would really rather not have to.

"Uryuu, please be safe." She whispered as she ran toward the hollows.

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Uryuu stood back to back with Ichigo. Hollows surrounded them; both of them were out of breath and bleeding.

"This is insane! They just keep coming! Did you throw out some hollow bait by accident or something?" Ichigo yelled.

"Shut up Kurosaki! I didn't throw out any hollow bait and if you would pay attention then you would have noticed that there are only about twenty left."

"You make it sound like twenty is easy!"

Uryuu didn't have time to retort as twenty hollows descended upon Ichigo upon the two of them.

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Orihime arrived just in time to watch in horror as a slew of hollows fell upon Uryuu and Ichigo.

"Ishida-kun!!" she yelled as she ran with renewed speed toward toward the mass of hollows.

As Orihime ran toward the gaggle of hollows, two distinctive blasts of energy surged through the pile of hollows one blue from Uryuu and the other black from Ichigo. Almost as fast as the blasts themselves, Uryuu and Ichigo leapt from the mass of hollows and began dispatching them from a different angle.

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Orihime watched in fear as Uryuu and Ichigo continued to fight with renewed fervor. By the time she arrived the two of them had completely vanquished the hollows.

"Uryuu!" she called out as she watched him and Ichigo collapse from exhaustion. When she arrived, him and Ichigo were still exchanging verbal jabs.

"I still think you should check your hollow bait stash." Ichigo said between haggard breathes.

"You are an absolute idiot Kurosaki." Uryuu spat back.

"Both of you hush." Orihime said with unusual authority as she started to heal the two of them.

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After they had been healed, Ichigo had headed home and Uryuu was walking Orihime home. They were making small talk until they arrived at her place.

Orihime's mood changed drastically at that point and Uryuu picked up on it despite his body's intense aching and exhaustion.

"Uryuu, there's something I need to tell you." She said with a determined look.

Uryuu didn't know where this new, assertive Orihime had come from but he liked it. He loved being called by his first name now. They had finally broken that barrier about a week ago and he was still getting used to it.

"What is it Orihime?" He asked.

Orihime paused for a second, steeled herself and let fly.

"Uryuu, I- I like you. More than a friend should like another friend. This isn't like the feelings I had for Ichigo, this is more. Uryuu I don't know how you feel about me but it doesn't change how I feel."

She finished and looked directly into his eyes. He said nothing at first then moved his hand to her neck and gently pulled her into a kiss.

Orihime eagerly moved her lips with his until they both had to break off for air.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear those words." Uryuu breathed.

Orihime smiled and stood on her tiptoes to plant another kiss on the Quincy's lips.


End file.
